Posted Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Grizzly Bear Greetings has been selling on Etsy since August 2011, they offers a variety of cute animal greeting cards and nursery art. And can customize or personalize any of their products to suit your occasion. Today they are sharing a little about their shop and selling handmade items.

What motivated you to start your shop?
After a few years of creating kids' birthday cards and baby shower invitations for friends and family, I finally decided to take the plunge and open an Etsy shop.

What is the story behind your shop name?
When I'm not working on my Etsy shop, I run a web/graphic design firm named Brown Bear Creative. So when I started my shop in 2011, I wanted to keep a similar theme. I think bears make a great aesthetic. There's something about them that draws people in. But I also feature a lot of other animals in my artwork, such as rabbits, hippos, turtles, and dogs.

What surprised you most about having your own craft / online shop?
I've been surprised about which designs have become my bestsellers. Since I'm not always able to guess what will be a hit, I just try to draw things I'm interested in at that moment. I put everything out there and see what sticks!

What do you find most challenging about being an Etsy seller?
Learning all about shipping has always been a challenge for me. Getting the packing materials just right, keeping up with the latest postal charges, and streamlining the packing process is something I'm always working on.

What do you do when you aren't working?
Since working usually involves sitting in front of a computer, when I'm not at work, I like to be outside. I enjoy gardening, running, and playing tennis.

Anything else you'd like to tell us or share?

My two house rabbits are the inspiration behind my Little Bunnies series (cute brown rabbits who go biking, rowing, sledding, etc. together). While my pet rabbits don't engage in people sports, they are still very playful and mischievous, and they enjoy each other's company. I think those qualities come through in the illustrations.

Posted Friday, May 24, 2013

Hi y'all! My name is Erica, and I am the owner of eLeMeNO-P Kids. I am so excited to be here on the EtsyKids Team Blog sharing what I hope to be some of the most exciting topics in the world of children. I'm extremely grateful for this opportunity. Let me tell you a little bit about myself-I am 29 years old and live in Ohio with my husband, our 5 year old son, Mason, and our 2 dogs: Sprinkles and Evie. I have my Master's Degree in Reading Education, and all of my jobs have involved teaching children. So, I'm excited to share my knowledge with y'all! Let's get started!

Imaginative Play in Early Childhood

Young children learn by imagining, and doing. They pretend to be Mommy talking on her cell phone, they make their legos visit the land of dinosaurs, or they may even crawl around the house on all four's pretending to be a puppy. These are just a few of the millions of ways that children use role play to act out experiences they may have had, or they may have interest in.

How to Encourage Imaginative Play with our Children

Adults often underestimate the power of pretend play. Sometimes, our minds just can't go there. I know I struggle playing dinosaurs with my 5 year old. Just not my thing. However, play is a child's way of engaging in and making sense of the world around them. Pretend play is proven to develop social/emotional skills, language skills, thinking skills, eye hand coordination, spacial skills, all while allowing them to safely express their feelings.

Provide a Place of Pretend

Provide your child with a place that they can pretend, but don't always restrict it to one area of the house. A bunny has to hop around. You don't have to feel like you are reinventing the wheel, or go out and spend a lot of money. Remove all of the kitchen chairs from around the dining room table, place a large sheet over it, and it instantly becomes a cave where foxes live, a fort for soldiers to spend the night, or even a castle where the king and queen lives! The play area should be changed regularly with different props or toys to keep the imagination and pretending running wild!

Provide Props

Again, you don't have to go out and spend a lot of money. Some simple items in your home make great pretend play props. And old cardboard box provides many opportunities for a "house". Remember, the saying "We spent all this money on Christmas gifts, and he loves the box the most?" Exactly! Let your children play with your kitchen apron, rolling pin, or even your old cell phone! Know all of those Halloween costumes you spend money on every year? Don't put them in the attic--instead, store them within reach in a crate for your child to dress up any day of the week! My 5 year old fluctuates between Obi-Wan Kanobi to Buzz Lightyear to Spiderman. It's fun!

If you don't have any costumes, there are TONS of opportunities to get some. Consignment shops, your neighbors, or even Etsy :)

This Kids Personalized Superhero Cape is made by CopusHagenDesigns, and is the perfect addition to your costume stash. Yes, my 5 year old wears his when we are walking the dogs every afternoon so he can ward off any danger from my direction. The cool thing about these is you can personalize the color and initial of the cape!

The Felted Pear offers a great selection of Felt Food perfect for imaginative play! What's a trip to the grocery store without food?? Felt food is great because it's soft, more realistic, and washable. I love this basket of Rainbow of Fruits! They also offer sandwiches, pasta, canned tomatoes, sugar, and much more!

This Garden Fairy Set is made by WoodenBling. I just think this is the cutest idea to encourage outdoor pretend play! The set comes with the door, stairs, and "Fairy Lives Here" sign. How adorable! What a great set to encourage your children to enjoy nature all while taking care of their fairy.

Importance of Pretend Play

Play, including pretend play, is how a child learns. Undirected, unrestricted, and imaginative play are the best kinds of play! Pretend play encourages the child to learn about the world around them, in ways that make sense to them. A child can also make sense of scary things by pretending.

You may notice that your child wants to pretend to be a doctor and perform a checkup right before their own Dr.'s visit. This is because they are making sense of what will happen while at the doctor. Pretending to be the doctor comforts them and prepares them for when they are the patient. Pretend play prepares the child for adulthood, as well as teaches them how to interact with the world. A child NEEDS pretend play in their life!

Posted Thursday, May 23, 2013

Hi Everyone ! My name is Adriana and I am the Proud Etsy store owner and creator of Too Cute Invites. I am so honored to be a part of this great blog and to contribute my two sense about Children's Birthday Parties and Baby Showers ! Thank you EtsyKids for allowing me to share with you all .

I want to start by saying I am not an Event Planner by far but I am a mom and have friends and family members who are as well .Everyone knows how important that Big day is for your little one . May it be they are only turning 2 or 3 or 10 to them its a big deal its there special day .As a parent you want it to be the best day of their lives and as special as possible ! When I threw my sons first and Second Birthday Parties I was so excited and wanted to do everything myself ! Then reality hit and time flew by so I needed help and turned to Etsy ! I made my own Invitations which inspired me to start my shop but I ordered almost everything else from other shops . I found Favors, Favor bags, Ribbons, Decorations , Hats and Custom Shirts for him to wear I was BEYOND thrilled that I had help from other people like me ! I even found a shop to make me little sugar goldfish to go on the cupcakes ! that's what I love about this community no matter what you need and can think of someone is here to help you create it ! All my guests loved the items and I was happy to share with them where I got them and help out other Etsy sellers.

Another important point to make is when you are buying from an Etsy shop you are supporting small business and artisans .Each item you buy is made by hand especially for you and your event it truly makes it unique. You wont find any of these items at the big brand name stores and your event will be different from all the rest ! I always say be as creative as your child would be and you will have a fun , beautiful party your child will remember forever!

Each month I will be showing you a step by step party guide Using items found on Etsy and more importantly made by EtsyKids team members. I will stick to one theme that is popular and show you how to plan around it and all the great finds we have in this community ! I hope to share all the great fun things Birthday parties and Baby showers are about and make this experience as fun for you and your child as well ! I will also share some money saving tips and maybe a coupon or two !

Please stop by on June 11th when I will have the First Theme up and If you are a Party or Party related vendor on the Etsy Kids team and want to share your work with me for future post Please contact me and I will gladly take note !

Posted Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Rozies Pearls has been selling on Etsy since November 2011, she specializes in handcrafted newborn and toddler bracelets, including unique bracelets for both girls and boys. Today she is sharing a little about her shop and selling handmade items.

What motivated you to start your shop?
Randy and I were at a craft fair here in town and we were introduced to a lady that sells on Etsy. After talking to her I opened our shop a week later.

What is the story behind your shop name?
We don't have any kids so we named the shop after our German Shepherd, Rozie. you can find a picture of her on our about page. She's a cutie.

What surprised you most about having your own craft / online shop?
I thought it would be alot harder to get to the point that we are today in sales. This year so far we have a little more then doubled our sales with less views.What is your favourite creations from your shop?
My Baptism bracelets. We have sold a couple so far and it just seems to touch my heart in a special way.

What do you find most challenging about being an Etsy seller?
Getting views is the easy part but, the most challenging thing would have to be getting a sale.

What's your personal philosophy behind your shop / products?
Ordering the best supplies, keeping the prices low to help get sales and most important taking time to make each order perfect so when your little bundle of joy will someday be able to pass the bracelet down to his/her little one.

How would someone (other then you) describe you?
I have had friends over the years tell me I'm one of the most soft hearted caring person. That I take pride in my work and I would go out of my way to help someone in need.

What do you do when you aren't working?
I take care of the house, fix Randy his breakfast and lunches for work. I'm presently working on a Tigar hook rug.

Anything else you'd like to tell us or share?
For years now Randy has been wanting to retire early. I felt like it was up to me to find something that would get us to that point in our lives. It's funny because every time we get a sale he says can I retire now? I can tell that someday I will be able to say well, honey the business is booming and you can give your 2 weeks notice. I can't wait for that day to finally get here.

Rozies Pearls is offering free shipping on all orders, valid until 29th May 2013. To use the coupon visit her etsy store and enter code "ETSYKIDS" at checkout.

Posted Tuesday, May 21, 2013

It's time to vote for your favorite item! Voting will be open until May 27th. This month, EtsyKids members were challenged to create an exciting new item based on a theme "Thanks Teacher!". We received some fantastic entries, please vote for your favorite from the list below.

"Just Beeing Birds" by MeysMadeCoolCrochet
EtsyKids Treasury Challenge #9
Birds and bees mellow in their black and yellow.
Beautiful handmade creations by members of the EtsyKids team.

Thank you Sarah for creating such a lovely treasury!

MeysMadeCoolCrochet creates and sells beautiful crochet hats and photography props. She works with bright colours and fun character designs and is bases in New Zealand.
Her cute spring breeze beanie would have fitted just perfectly into this treasury! You can view more of her creations in her etsy shop.

Posted Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Zucchini Island has been selling on Etsy since June 2010, she specializes in creating lovingly hand knit baby blankets, baby knit hats, pixie bonnets and accessories for children and women, too. Today she is sharing a little about her shop and selling handmade items.

What motivated you to start your shop?
This is my second shop and it wasn't something like "Let's see how it goes". I just had the feeling that this is THE THING I want to do; and even if weeks go by and I have only a few sales, I have this crazy feeling that the shop is doing perfect.
I know that everything that has to be will be at exactly the right time. So, I am patient and do the work, learn the lessons and move down the road ahead.

What is the story behind your shop name?
My shop name. Well, that is a story to tell.
The shop itself, the name and the new me were born because of a real island, where I wanted to go, for no reason at all, for the last 3 or 4 years. I just felt that I had to go there. It is a island in North of Greece. It is where I found my inner peace, I found the new ME that was dying to come out.
I had this feeling of peace and calm and it felt like that "Aha!" moment in my life: "Here I am. This is WHO I am".
I remember one night waking up in the middle of the night and just hearing the waves and their rhythm, calm, over and over again...I kept that sound in my heart, I kept the bluest, deepest water in my memory and I often go there in my mind to find my inner peace.
Well, this is why my shop is called "Island" - it is my island where I am at peace, where I am happy. I take my "island" with me wherever I am. I wish to send out into the world little pieces of it, little pieces of love and peace.

What surprised you most about having your own craft / online shop?
I started my first shop: FlowersByKara with the idea to make an extra buck, besides my day job and what surprised me the most was the fact that it brings in so much more than an extra buck! There is a great joy just from a letter telling you someone enjoyed your creations, or their mother or their best friend. I love the freedom I feel when I work for my shop.What is your favourite creations from your shop?
My favourite creations are always my newest ones, but I still love everything I make. Mostly I love making the baby bonnets, specially for the baby girls, so I can add sweet flowers and butterflies.

What do you find most challenging about being an Etsy seller?
The most challenging thing for me is the marketing stuff. Pfff! Couldn't I just create and someone else do this job, please? So, bringing in the traffic for my shop is the master of the most challenging job. But, not complaining, I just need to learn more.

What's your personal philosophy behind your shop / products?
My personal philosophy is: "Be kind". I keep it close to everything I do, not only my shop. The shop' moto is: "Stitching seeds of love" and I do believe in it: adding in every stitch a little bit of love.

How would someone (other then you) describe you?
I have asked my friend what word would she use to describe me; she said "Creative" and then she added: "you are too nice for these days" I found it funny, but I do not agree that there can be too much of "nice".

What do you do when you aren't working?
I do have a day job - I still do. I planned last year to quit it when my daughter finishes 3rd grade - that is in June! I also manage a second Etsy shop, Flowers By Kara
And also keeping up with everything in the house, raising a kid, my job and both Etsy shops.
But I love to spend my free time my kiddo and my friends. I also love to swim, except I am not very good at it (go figure!)

Please tell us a little about the children's items market / handmade movement in your Country?
I am from Romania, in Eastern Europe, an ex-comunist country. It's only been 24 years since we became a democratic country. It was difficult to learn to live in a competitive economy, to create the competitive economy. The handmade movement is just starting to develop to a level that can be recognized and accepted as a way of living.
But if I were to tell that I want to leave a "secure" day job and stay home and knit, most people would say I am crazy! I hope that, little by little the handmade goods will be appreciated and will become part of everyone's life.

Anything else you'd like to tell us or share?
For all those who are thinking about having a go at doing something that they love:Do you love what you do? Then do not hesitate. You will spend days and nights working with passion.Experiences go up and down, from a huge smile when you read some fantastic feedback from someone, to complete frustration when a package seems lost in the mail.So just give it a try, give it your BEST SHOT, so you will not regret what could have been!

Zucchini Island is offering 12% discount, valid until the end of May 2013. To use the coupon visit her etsy store and enter code "ETSYKIDS" at checkout.